Starbucks Is Making New Iced Energy Drinks and We Tried Them

Starbucks recently announced a line of “Iced Energy Drinks,” presumably to compete with all the other coffee shops who’ve been offering this concept for a while now. Hell, even Taco Bell was testing the iced energy drinks concept late last year. But it’s not a ready-to-drink canned energy drink, well, not exactly. 

Starbucks is creating new canned energy drinks to be used as ingredients for their Iced Energy Drinks like. The drink as advertised is made by opening a canned energy drink, pouring it into a cup of ice, and adding a few ounces of tea to fill the cup.

To be clear, Starbucks is paying to produce and ship 12 oz energy drinks to all of their stores—but you can’t buy them. Not yet, at least. This is a huge difference compared to Tim Hortons, who will happily sell you an iced energy drink made with Red Bull or the Red Bull on its own. 

We got sent the base drink “mixes,” but since they’re not for sale, we can’t categorize this article as a new product review, per se. Hopefully, Starbucks will pivot this concept slightly (or a lot…wait until you read what these drinks taste like) and release the base canned drinks directly to consumers soon. Until then, though, here’s my thoughts on what could be a new line of Starbucks energy drinks.

Tropical Citrus Iced Energy Drink

Pros: The base Tropical Citrus Energy tastes like it has no sweeteners of any kind, but according to the ingredients, it does contain sucralose. Even with the addition of a few ounces of green tea, this is a bitter drink. I’ll note that as a positive because there are people out there who truly want the most bitter taste possible out of their tea, and this certainly qualifies.

Cons: I’m not sure Starbucks knows why people buy energy drinks. The addition of ice only hinders the speed at which Johnny Consumer can slam his caffeine before the exam he studied all night for. Starbucks doesn’t recommend adding a sweetener when you order this drink, but trust me, it needs it. All around, I’m truly baffled at how these drinks tested positively enough to be sold on a national scale.

3/10 Sporks

Melon Burst Iced Energy Drink

Pros: If you hate drinks that taste like anything at all, this is perfect for you!

Cons: This drink tastes like standing in line at the post office. The base “Melon Cucumber” energy drink tastes like sucralose, carbonation, and disappointment. The final product adds “Passion Tango tea” (which I was told is the least popular tea flavor at the location I sampled these from) to create…absolutely nothing at all. Earlier this year, I had a Pineapple Rum Float from the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Chicago; right now, it’s on record as the best drink I had this year. These iced energy drinks have a good shot at being the worst. Say what you will, Starbucks certainly has range.

2/10 Sporks


About the Author

Griffin Parker

Griffin Parker is a writer, award-winning charity auctioneer, and "influencer in the beverage space" according to a few PR agencies. Please do not ask him about the cotton candy business he started right out of high school. When he's not contributing to Sporked or running the @SodaSeekers news pages, you can find Griffin espousing the virtues of Dayton-style pizza, Cincinnati-style chili, and Dolly Parton's Fabulously Fudgy Brownie Mix.

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  • Griffin, is there a carbonated citrus drink off the shelf that tastes similar to the Citrus Iced Energy drink at Starbucks? Six bucks a glass is pretty steep.

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